Sint Lucas Masters 2023-2024
Tremor

Tremor

Thérèse Rafter

Autonomous Context  2023-2024

“The hardest thing of all to see is what is really there. Books about birds show pictures of the peregrine. Large and isolated.. the hawk stares back at you, bold, statuesque, brightly coloured. But when you have shut the book, you will never see that bird again. Compared with the close and static image, the reality will seem dull and disappointing. The living bird will never be so large, so shiny-bright. It will be deep in landscape, and always sinking farther back, always at the point of being lost.” J.A. Baker, The Peregrine

Tremor is an ongoing research project critically examining collective and western perceptions of the natural world. Utilising falconry—a distinctive example of a unique and intimate relationship between humans and birds—as a focal point, the artist explores human-centric ideas of living in harmony with nature. Currently presented in photobook and printed formats, Tremor subtly reveals the complexities inherent in human intervention within biological habitats. Through this work, viewers are invited to reevaluate the depth of their connections to the natural environment.